"You...you're not kidding me?"
“Booing you? Why would I bluff you?” Wang Shouren said with a smile, “You don’t think that a secretary’s job is to report whatever the subordinates say to the superiors, do you? What would I need you for then? As for the award that Kui Datou applied for, he could have just told me himself, right? What role would you play in that? Just like the other day, when Lao Yuan called.”
"You just passed it on to me, which makes me feel really awkward."
"Then... then what should I do?"
"Find out what he wants to do. If he's just here to catch up, just give it to me and I'll talk to him. But what if he's placing an order? How much is the order, and how long is it expected to take for the factory to produce this batch? You don't know now, but you should have a better idea in the future. Okay, that's all I'll say. Think it over carefully."
"No... wait, I don't understand. Did you do this when you were a secretary?"
"Me, a secretary?" Wang Shouren glanced at Xu Weiwei and smiled. "I didn't do it this way when I was a secretary."
"Then why do you ask so much of me!"
"When I was a secretary, the top leader told me that we needed to increase the output of a certain factory..."
"Then what?"
"Then I went and did it. I upgraded the factory according to my ideas, and then I put together a report and told the big boss."
"No, all you're asked to do is increase production?" Xu Weiwei found it unbelievable.
"Well, it depends on the person. Some people are not trusted by their superiors, so they will ask you to come up with a plan first, and then they will approve it after reviewing it. I am the kind of person that people can trust."
"Then what's the point of having a leader?" Xu Weiwei was even more confused.
Wang Shouren scoffed: "What's the use of being a leader? Of course, it's about taking a higher perspective to oversee the overall situation. For example, as a factory manager, I have to think about how much profit my factory makes, and how I should distribute that profit. How much should be allocated to the workers to boost their enthusiasm, how much to the R&D department to ensure our products don't fall behind, how much to build new factory buildings, and how much to purchase advanced equipment?"
"The same goes for the leaders above. No matter what it is, there is a priority. They know what is more important and what can be postponed. These things need to be coordinated. As for the next level, to clarify how to do it specifically, it depends on the specific implementers. For important matters, the leaders personally oversee them or send trusted subordinates to handle them. For unimportant matters, they postpone them and delegate them to some capable subordinates so that they can gain experience."
"Thinking from this level offers a different answer. I don't need to know what you're going to do; I just need to know if you can do it well, and what kind of result you can give me after you do it. That's all."
Wang Shouren was also puzzled. Given Xu Weiwei's family background, she shouldn't be unaware of the role a secretary plays. Yet, this girl seemed clueless, knowing nothing about it. He guessed she'd been pampered at home and never been exposed to this kind of thing. Anyway, he wasn't too concerned. For Wang Shouren, in this situation, whether Xu Weiwei wanted to do it or not didn't really matter.
There isn't much difference.
"Knock knock knock!"
There was a knock on the door.
The head of the personnel department brought Shen Yuanliang in, and to Wang Shouren's surprise, there were two other people following behind Shen Yuanliang.
To be honest, these two are old acquaintances.
Sun Liancheng and Li Li were among the first two people to learn the 5S management system from him at the steel rolling mill; they were considered his apprentices. Later, they did well at the steel rolling mill, and during those years, Wang Shouren would occasionally take them along on business trips. Eventually, they were transferred to the Ministry of Industry, but remained as clerks—essentially an administrative position.
"Factory manager, the people have been brought to you. They have been hired by Chen Gong as you instructed. But what about these two?" The head of the personnel department was somewhat puzzled.
Shen Yuanliang's presence here is absurd enough, but why did two people from the Ministry of Industry come along too? What's so appealing about this lousy factory?
"Alright, I'll come find you again in a bit. You can go out now."
"Okay, then you go ahead with your work."
After seeing off the head of the personnel department, Wang Shouren walked over to Shen Yuanliang and hugged him, saying, "I'm so glad to have finally seen you here."
To be honest, Shen Yuanliang now is completely different from the Shen Yuanliang of ten years ago. He has some gray hair at his temples and wrinkles around his eyes. But his temper is still the same as it was back then.
"You're quite something, taking my cigarettes back then, and now you've set me up."
"Haha, don't worry about those spoils. You're here, so what? I've always kept the chief engineer position for you."
"Chief Engineer?" Shen Yuanliang frowned; he wasn't particularly fond of this title.
"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied with this chief engineer position." Then, Wang Shouren turned to Sun Liancheng and Li Li: "You two, what are you doing here?"
"Report! Master, I'm here to work for you." Sun Liancheng stood at attention and raised his hand in a salute.
"Go away, don't tease me. You two are doing just fine in the ministry, what are you doing in my little lousy factory?" Wang Shouren waved his hand.
The Ministry of Industry is practically the ultimate goal in this field. Even being a junior clerk within the Ministry is more reliable than being a section chief elsewhere. These two have accumulated enough merit; in a few years, they might even get promoted. Wang Shouren estimates that reaching the position of bureau chief before retirement shouldn't be too difficult. After all, when it comes to the 5S management system, these two have absolute authority in China.
"No, Master, the department sent us to help you."
"What the heck?" Now it was Wang Shouren's turn to be stumped: "The ministry, are you here to help me?"
"Yes, Master, I heard it's news from a meeting at higher up, and they'll fully cooperate with you. I heard from the department that there doesn't seem to be anything you need their cooperation with, so they sent the two of us over. Also, Director Li said that this time, we'll get a promotion when we go back."
"On loan, then." Wang Shouren understood.
This is normal practice between factories; you borrow someone from here today, and I'll borrow someone from you tomorrow. It's a way of helping each other out. The main reason Wang Shouren didn't borrow anyone is because his factory is still small, and if you're talking about being short-staffed, he really is.
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